| Issue |
Photoniques
Number 131, 2025
Quantum Sensing
|
|
|---|---|---|
| Page(s) | 37 - 41 | |
| Section | Large scientific project | |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1051/photon/202513137 | |
| Published online | 16 May 2025 | |
Controlling lightning with lasers
Laboratoire d’Optique Appliquée, ENSTA, École polytechnique, CNRS, Institut Polytechnique de Paris, Palaiseau, France
* aurelien.houard@polytechnique.edu
Lightning is one of nature's most extreme phenomena. As fascinating as it is destructive, it causes billions of euros worth of damage every year. The idea of using lasers to control lightning dates back to the 1970s, but it wasn't until 50 years later, with the European Laser Lightning Rod project, that it was demonstrated for the first time that powerful lasers could guide lightning over long distances.
© The authors, published by EDP Sciences, 2025
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